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The chief of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland was born in April 1940 in Waktham village just east of Myanmar’s Pangsau Pass, Khaplang is the youngest of his 10 siblings and is also leading the newly-formed United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW).

Hailing from Hemi Naga tribe of Myanmar, Khaplang has two homes — one in China’s Yunan province and one in Myanmar. Khaplang has three sons and a daughter and they are settled far from the rebellion. The seeds of insurgency were sown very early in Khaplang’s life after he witnessed events of the World War II as a child.

Khaplang floated Naga Defence Force in 1964. In 1965, Khaplang went on to become the vice-chairman and then the chairman of Eastern Naga Revolutionary Council. According to the report, Khaplang during this period assisted young recruits to go to China for training and it was then when he grew closer to Thuingaleng Muivah, an MA from Gauhati University.

The two later collaborated and formed one of the strongest factions in northeast — Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland. The alliance was a strategic step taken by Khaplang so that the rebels from across the Burmese border can easily infiltrate into the Indian territory. And thanks to Khaplang, the main insurgent group was able to build base in the Burmese side.

The outfit became so strong that it was almost running a parallel government, not only in Nagaland, but also in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. But the partnership did not last for too long.

In 1988, the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) was formed after it broke out from NSCN (Isak-Muivah), Thuingaleng Muivah. “Clan rivalries between the Konyaks of Nagaland’s northernmost Mon district, and the Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur’s Ukhrul district, which dominated the NSCN (IM), is cited as one of the main reasons for the split,”.

The Khaplang faction’s main demand was independence of Nagaland.

Objective of the NSCN-K is the formation of a ‘greater Nagaland’ comprising of the Naga dominated areas of the neighbouring states within India and adjoining areas in Myanmar.

Apart from heading NSCN(Khaplang) and UNLFW, Khaplang is also referred “President” of the ‘Government of the People’s Republic of Nagaland.”

Khaplang has emerged as one of the most important insurgent leader in the northeast in the past two decades. His recent and biggest success was being able to bring five other rebel groups — United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent), Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) and National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) — under one umbrella and coalesced to form UNLFW.

However, Khaplang signed a truce deal with the Indian government on 27 April, 2001. While the government has had 80 rounds of peace talks with the NSCN-IM, Khaplang has not been invited even once. While the Indian government was trying to broke peace, Khaplang refused to budge and went back to his demand of an independent Northeast and the Naga-inhabited areas in Myanmar.

Tired of waiting, Khaplang repealed the ceasefire agreement in April 2015. Khaplang has come to an understanding with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s armed forces), even securing permission to host his allies from the Northeast. He enjoys freedom and autonomy to run his own government. But such a scenario is difficult to imagine in India’s Northeast.

Abrogation of the ceasefire was followed by six attacks on Indian forces – in Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal, including the one that took killed 18 security personnel in Manipur’s Chandel district on 4 June.

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“I have stood under the banner of ‘Nagaland for Christ’ with the hope that my people may see both physical and spiritual freedom from the oppression of the ruthless occupiers.

I have done my part for the freedom of my people with the little capacity God has given me. And now, the younger generations of Nagaland need to continue the legacy left to you like passed down to us by the elders. Never weaver nor be carried away with the ideologies of the aliens that Nagas do not deserve to be a Nation.

As a human, I have done many wrongs and forgive me all my failures in this noble venture of our cherished freedom.

My sons and daughters, please continue to hold on the torch of our freedom until we reach the promised land.”
SS Khaplang

Chairman/President

NSCN/GPRN

19:30hrs Friday 9th June 2017

(Please note that this last will of him in English is an official translation done by Athong Makury, President of the Council of Naga Affairs, Myanmar. CNA claims the copyright of this translation.)